Wind Turbine Blade Coatings: New Advances, Application and Challenges

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Corrosion, Wear and Erosion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 22734

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Research Institute of Design, Innovation and Technology, University CEU Cardenal Herrera, CEU Universities, Avda. Seminario S/N, 46115 Moncada-Valencia, Spain
Interests: Mechanical modelling and new materials development for the Leading Edge Erosion protection in Wind Turbine Blades; Computational mechanics in composites manufacturing; Energy optimization of solar and hydrogen technologies in mobility applications and construction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wind energy has become one of the most promising technologies due to being a sustainable energy supply in the world.  Wind power generation capacity has shown a constant growth over recent years and  shows a maturity trends towards larger wind turbines with longer blades. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite materials are used in the design and manufacture of wind turbine blades due mainly to the versatility offered in the structural optimization and material performance enhancement. However, composite materials perform poorly under transverse impact (rain droplets, hail, and solid particles) and also are sensitive to environmental factors. Wind turbine blade manufacturers employ surface coatings to protect the composite structure from exposure to these concerns. Furthermore, the increasing rotor diameters have posed a dramatic problem regarding blade durability.  Protection against possible surface damage of coated blade composites is a multifaceted problem since it combines, among others, the consideration of environmental degradation of materials, operational loading rate effects, impact fatigue loading, fluid-structure interaction, interaction of solid particles on deformable materials, erosion and progressive damage modelling, life cycle prediction, coating application methods in the factory and in field repairs, and reliable coating experimentation and validation methods. The complexity of the problem requires a significant research effort to comprehensively tackle the challenge of developing appropriate coatings materials and solutions for the wind industry.

About the Topics of Interest:

In particular, the topics of interest include but are not limited to

  • Coating aging and environmental degradation factors.
  • Coating damage mechanics, modelling and lifetime prediction.
  • Coating micro and nano-structure and fundamental properties based innovations.
  • Coatings recyclability and bio-based materials.
  • Coatings as a multilayer system. Interface/interphase chemical and mechanical interactions and compatibility.
  • Coating application process and wind blade manufacturing/repairing issues.
  • Coatings characterization and testing reliability.

Dr. Fernando Sanchez Lopez
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 52645 KiB  
Article
Nanoengineered Graphene-Reinforced Coating for Leading Edge Protection of Wind Turbine Blades
by Nicolai Frost-Jensen Johansen, Leon Mishnaevsky, Jr., Arash Dashtkar, Neil A. Williams, Søren Fæster, Alessio Silvello, Irene Garcia Cano and Homayoun Hadavinia
Coatings 2021, 11(9), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11091104 - 13 Sep 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6549
Abstract
Possibilities of the development of new anti-erosion coatings for wind turbine blade surface protection on the basis of nanoengineered polymers are explored. Coatings with graphene and hybrid nanoreinforcements are tested for their anti-erosion performance, using the single point impact fatigue testing (SPIFT) methodology. [...] Read more.
Possibilities of the development of new anti-erosion coatings for wind turbine blade surface protection on the basis of nanoengineered polymers are explored. Coatings with graphene and hybrid nanoreinforcements are tested for their anti-erosion performance, using the single point impact fatigue testing (SPIFT) methodology. It is demonstrated that graphene and hybrid (graphene/silica) reinforced polymer coatings can provide better erosion protection with lifetimes up to 13 times longer than non-reinforced polyurethanes. Thermal effects and energy dissipation during the repeated soft impacts on the blade surface are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbine Blade Coatings: New Advances, Application and Challenges)
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15 pages, 23762 KiB  
Article
Assessment of a Wind Turbine Blade Erosion Lifetime Prediction Model with Industrial Protection Materials and Testing Methods
by Robbie Herring, Luis Domenech, Jordi Renau, Asta Šakalytė, Carwyn Ward, Kirsten Dyer and Fernando Sánchez
Coatings 2021, 11(7), 767; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11070767 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3514
Abstract
Leading edge protection (LEP) coating systems are applied to protect turbine blade edges from rain erosion. The performance of a LEP system is assessed in an accelerated rain erosion test (RET) as a metric for industrial application, but these tests are expensive. Modelling [...] Read more.
Leading edge protection (LEP) coating systems are applied to protect turbine blade edges from rain erosion. The performance of a LEP system is assessed in an accelerated rain erosion test (RET) as a metric for industrial application, but these tests are expensive. Modelling methods are available to predict erosion, based on fundamental material properties, but there is a lack of validation. The Springer model (1976) is analysed in this work to assess it as a tool for using material fundamental properties to predict the time to failure in a rain erosion test. It has been applied, referenced and industry validated with important partial considerations. The method has been applied successfully for erosion damage by wear performance prediction when combined with prior material data from rain erosion test (RET), instead of obtaining it directly from fundamental properties measured separately as Springer proposed. The method also offers accurate predictions when coupled with modified numerical parameters obtained from experimental RET testing data. This research aims to understand the differences between the experimental data used by Springer and the current industry approach to rain erosion testing, and to determine how it may introduce inaccuracies into lifetime predictions of current LEP systems, since they are very different to those tested in the historic modelling validation. In this work, a review of the modelling is presented, allowing for the understanding of key issues of its computational implementation and the required experimental material characterisation. Modelling results are discussed for different original application issues and industry-related LEP configuration cases, offering the reader to interpret the limits of the performance prediction when considering the variation in material fundamental properties involved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbine Blade Coatings: New Advances, Application and Challenges)
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11 pages, 2327 KiB  
Article
A Staged Approach to Erosion Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Coatings
by David Nash, Grant Leishman, Cameron Mackie, Kirsten Dyer and Liu Yang
Coatings 2021, 11(6), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11060681 - 5 Jun 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3088
Abstract
The current wind turbine leading-edge erosion research focuses on the end of the incubation period and breakthrough when analysing the erosion mechanism. This work presented here shows the benefits of splitting and describing leading-edge erosion progression into discrete stages. The five identified stages [...] Read more.
The current wind turbine leading-edge erosion research focuses on the end of the incubation period and breakthrough when analysing the erosion mechanism. This work presented here shows the benefits of splitting and describing leading-edge erosion progression into discrete stages. The five identified stages are: (1) an undamaged, as-new, sample; (2) between the undamaged sample and end of incubation; (3) the end of incubation period; (4) between the end of incubation and breakthrough, and (5) breakthrough. Mass loss, microscopy and X-ray computed tomography were investigated at each of the five stages. From this analysis, it was observed that notable changes were detected at Stages 2 and 4, which are not usually considered separately. The staged approach to rain erosion testing offers a more thorough understanding of how the coating system changes and ultimately fails due to rain droplet impacts. It is observed that during microscopy and X-ray computed tomography, changes unobservable to the naked eye can be tracked using the staged approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbine Blade Coatings: New Advances, Application and Challenges)
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23 pages, 5424 KiB  
Article
Damage Mechanism Based Approach to the Structural Health Monitoring of Wind Turbine Blades
by Malcolm McGugan and Leon Mishnaevsky, Jr.
Coatings 2020, 10(12), 1223; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10121223 - 14 Dec 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 5667
Abstract
A damage mechanism based approach to the structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades is formulated. Typical physical mechanisms of wind turbine blade degradation, including surface erosion, adhesive fatigue, laminate cracking and in some cases compressive kinking and failure are reviewed. Examples of [...] Read more.
A damage mechanism based approach to the structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades is formulated. Typical physical mechanisms of wind turbine blade degradation, including surface erosion, adhesive fatigue, laminate cracking and in some cases compressive kinking and failure are reviewed. Examples of a local, damage mechanism based approach to the structural health monitoring of wind turbine blades are demonstrated, including the monitoring of leading edge erosion of wind turbine blades, adhesive bond failure, plydrop delamination, static and dynamic plydrop tests, and bolt and laminate fatigue. The examples demonstrate the possibilities of monitoring specific damage mechanisms, and specific localizations of wind turbine blades. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wind Turbine Blade Coatings: New Advances, Application and Challenges)
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